When newly turned to evil Anakin/Vader slaughters the Separatist leaders he is walking away when one takes a shot at his back. Without looking he deflects and kills the shooter with a lightsaber block thrown over his shoulder.

Shmi's theme. It first plays when Shmi tells Anakin to leave Tatooine and move on with his life. Then it plays in Episode II, when Anakin tells Obi-Wan about his dreams. But the saddest part is when it plays when Shmi tells Anakins that she's so proud of him. The music just sounds so... fragile, at that moment.

The one that first came to my mind is the cut to Padmé and the look on her face after Anakin stood up, determined to find his mother and Cliegg's quite insensitive "Your mother's dead, son. Accept it.". One of the many little moments that show how Padmé softens over the course of her time with Anakin and starts to realize that her affection for Anakin is just as real as her political duties.
For all the controversial dialogue and the stylized nature of their relationship, it's moments like this that make me feel for these characters in a very real way.

The one that first came to my mind is the cut to Padmé and the look on her face after Anakin stood up, determined to find his mother and Cliegg's quite insensitive "Your mother's dead, son. Accept it.". One of the many little moments that show how Padmé softens over the course of her time with Anakin and starts to realize that her affection for Anakin is just as real as her political duties.
For all the controversial dialogue and the stylized nature of their relationship, it's moments like this that make me feel for these characters in a very real way.

Click to expand...

Yes! And as for her political duties...

Her reaction here -- very similar to the one shown above (one of endless internal rhymes) -- says it all:

Looking forlorn and powerless in the face of pressing adversity and insuperable strife.

Padme's expressions often show her in a despondent light. Thanks to the casting, the make-up, the cinematography, and the costuming, she often looks like a figure from a religious painting: a sad Madonna.

And her gaze also matches up well with Anakin's precocious observation of her in the ship, heading for Coruscant, after she watches the hologram of Sio Bibble in TPM: "You seem sad." Not to mention Leia's description of her in ROTJ: "She was very beautiful. Kind, but sad."

What is Padme sad about, exactly? Where does it come from? Why is it so persistent? Again, it is almost a religious affectation: something that goes beyond the immediate artifacts of the situations she finds herself in. Something deep-rooted. Almost a latent Force-sensitivity, if you will. With her tribulations only adding to matters.

So it kinda baffles me when people say that the passive and weepy Padme in ROTS comes out of left-field. That the earlier Padme would never behave that way. Never allow herself to be overcome and just "give up" on life. Sometimes, I feel, people just aren't watching closely enough. The clues, I think, are there.

Anyway, I think the editing adds a touch of class and humanity to the movie -- AOTC -- in moments like these. They're only brief reaction shots of Padme, but they contribute a lot. I find that it's often the small details that add the most. And the prequel trilogy might belong more to Padme than any other.

Cryogenic and Samnz , I'll simply add to your posts by contributing one of my favorite little acting moments in the trilogy:

I love the decision to linger on her reaction here. Like everything else about the romance, there's something that makes Padme silently uncomfortable, and whatever joy there is does not last.

My favorite detail, though, might actually be a line of dialogue:

"Anakin, if one is to understand the great mystery one must study all it’s aspects, not just the dogmatic narrow view of the Jedi."

It's such a small thing, but I LOVE the fact that Palpatine calls the force "the great mystery" here. As soon as I heard that, my understanding of the force changed. Suddenly it was this grand phenomenon in society that people had tried for millennia to unravel. I imagined scholars, Jedi and "secular" alike, attempting to figure out what this Force thing is and how it works. And I began to see the Force as very much analogous to humanities search for purpose and meaning. The very concept of midichlorians means that every individual is imprinted with some sort of greater purpose at a cellular level, and that concept excites people just as much in the GFFA as much as it would in the real world.

I love the decision to linger on her reaction here. Like everything else about the romance, there's something that makes Padme silently uncomfortable, and whatever joy there is does not last.

Click to expand...

Oh yes, that's a great moment. You can clearly see that Padmé enjoys herself and what she experiences with Anakin right now, but there is still the "idea" that she's got "more important things to do" than falling in love. What I particularly like about this scene, though, and that lead me to this ...

Anyway, I think the editing adds a touch of class and humanity to the movie -- AOTC -- in moments like these. They're only brief reaction shots of Padme, but they contribute a lot. I find that it's often the small details that add the most. And the prequel trilogy might belong more to Padme than any other.

Click to expand...

... is the fact that it's subsequently taken over by a sense of joy and playfulness. They cut to the both of them having just fun with each other, accompanied by swinging music. Always makes me feel that - despite Padmé's resistance and hesitation, which is visible - love will eventually take over. For better or worse.

Cryogenic and Samnz , I'll simply add to your posts by contributing one of my favorite little acting moments in the trilogy:

"Anakin, if one is to understand the great mystery one must study all it’s aspects, not just the dogmatic narrow view of the Jedi."

It's such a small thing, but I LOVE the fact that Palpatine calls the force "the great mystery" here. As soon as I heard that, my understanding of the force changed. Suddenly it was this grand phenomenon in society that people had tried for millennia to unravel. I imagined scholars, Jedi and "secular" alike, attempting to figure out what this Force thing is and how it works. And I began to see the Force as very much analogous to humanities search for purpose and meaning. The very concept of midichlorians means that every individual is imprinted with some sort of greater purpose at a cellular level, and that concept excites people just as much in the GFFA as much as it would in the real world.

Click to expand...

I thought he was talking about death? As in the undiscovered country, the great mystery, all that. Makes it even creepier.

A wonder-world of shadows along with laser light that give way to deep blues of aqua and neon matched with curvature and vector designs; noir screens; Williams’ spacey ambiance; R2’s searching projector; a sleeping beauty. As darkly as it is luminous, and vice versa. A dream within a dream movie. Forgive the hyperbole for what might otherwise just seem like a minor series of shots, but I honestly don't think Lucas has ever before or since topped the tonality and finer nuances of this particular aesthetic.